Jay Chieh Kao, PhD Government '21
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Tell us about your current position and the work you’re doing now.
At Loyola Chicago, I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science (tenure track). My current research uses natural experiments, field experiments, and survey data to examine when and how China-related political persuasion affects the behaviors and attitudes of both domestic and foreign citizens. I am also working on projects that analyze the temporal changes in the intensity of propaganda provisioning in media broadcasting. My empirical work mostly covers China and Taiwan.
How did your time at UT impact your career and/or research trajectory?
Two things exerted a significant impact on my career/research trajectory. The first one is the grad program’s faculty members. I benefited greatly from countless meetings with them during my time in the program. They gave me their time, constructive criticisms of my work, mental help, and professional advice. My dissertation committee members were especially helpful in improving my work, pointing out things that I may otherwise overlook for my papers.
The second one is the program’s course offerings. Methodologically, the course on Causal Inference and Experimental Methods in Political Science cultivated my interest in identifying causal relationships using observational and experimental data. Substantively, the course on Comparative Political Behavior and Authoritarian Politics was so intriguing that I decided to study people’s political behaviors and political attitudes in authoritarian regimes.
What’s one of your favorite memories from your time in our PhD program?
Hanging out with the colleagues I met in the program is definitely one of my favorite memories. We regularly went out to grab drinks and chat on Friday evenings. These conversations minimized my stress and built relationships with a lot of people (our program is large) sharing similar interests. Oh, I really miss our fun time in Austin.
Any advice for current UT GOV grad students?
Two pieces of advice. Learning methods (both quantitative and qualitative) takes a LOT of time and effort. Thus, you may want to take as many method classes as possible during your time in the Ph.D. program (especially during the first few years). We probably won’t have the luxury of time to hone our method skills while dissertating and/or after graduation. Additionally, the method toolkit is crucial and valuable for both academic and nonacademic job markets.
My second piece of advice is about research grant applications – do apply for external grants/funding to help you collect your data (e.g., experimental data, survey data, archival data, and/or interviews) for your dissertation/job market paper. Relatedly, start early – it takes a ton of time to write, revise, and polish the application documents.